Chapter 1280: Stone Carving on the Bridge

Han Li shook his sleeve, and another thirty-six Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords shot out, hovering in the high air ahead of the three, arranged in a single row.

As Han Li made a hand seal and pointed, these flying swords simultaneously spun around, and a vast expanse of golden lightning burst forth below, transforming into a colossal lightning sword screen nearly a thousand zhang wide, shielding the three behind it.

At the same time, a golden light flashed on Gold Devouring Beetle, instantly transforming into its Gold Devouring Immortal form, while Ti Hun raised both hands, black light blazing in her palms, and simultaneously summoned the Nether Ghost Claw and the Soul-Scattering Ghost Flute.

No sooner had the three completed these actions than a dense tide of ghostly creatures surged over like a flood.

These ghostly creatures varied in form, bizarre and strange, some even lacking a visible shape, and their auras were uneven. The vanguard consisted mostly of low-level ghosts below the True Immortal realm, but among them were not a few at the Golden Immortal level, and even some at the Tai Yi level.

Due to their astonishing numbers, the combined momentum was naturally terrifying to the extreme.

The countless ghosts slammed heavily into the lightning sword screen, launching various attacks that bombarded the screen.

Instantly, the lightning sword screen flashed wildly with thunder, and the entire screen trembled incessantly.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged as his hands swiftly formed seals. Golden dots appeared on the sword screen, and then countless lightning sword qi shot out from within, slashing into the ghostly horde.

For a time, a loud sizzling sound arose, and wails of ghosts and cries of misery rose one after another.

The Du E Divine Thunder possessed immense destructive power and had a restraining effect on ghosts. Instantly, the large swath of low-level ghosts at the forefront were shredded by the sword qi, turning into wisps of green smoke and vanishing.

The following ghosts, led by some high-level ones, showed no pause and continued to surge forward wildly.

Those ghosts seemed highly wary of the Black River, not daring to approach it, and only attacked from the front and the left and right sides, so Han Li and the others did not have to fight on two fronts.

However, as far as the eye could see behind them, there was an endless, dark mass, seemingly infinite.

But the situation here was unclear; if they retreated rashly, they might trigger other restrictions or even attract other beings, which was uncertain.

Han Li frowned slightly and continued to drive the sword screen in defense without a word.

Although the lightning sword screen formed by the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords was extremely powerful, the ghosts were too numerous, wave after wave, and the sword screen soon showed signs of fatigue.

Ti Hun and Gold Devouring Beetle grew anxious and wanted to help several times, but Han Li stopped them with a telepathic message, telling them to conserve their strength.

At that moment, a sharp screech sounded, overwhelming even the surrounding overwhelming ghostly cries.

The frenzied assault of the ghosts slowed, and then they quickly coalesced into four or five large sword-shaped battle formations.

Woo-woo-woo!

These battle formations spun rapidly, like drill bits, and then charged fiercely at the golden sword screen.

Instantly, golden light and black radiance burst forth in dazzling brilliance, blooming like fireworks.

With a crack, the golden sword screen shattered, and the thirty-six Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords emerged, spinning and flying back. Their lightning was somewhat dim, as if their spirituality had been slightly damaged.

Han Li's expression darkened. He raised his hand and waved, collecting the thirty-six Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords to nurture them inside his body. Then he spread his five fingers and grasped the void.

The other thirty-six Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords guarding him immediately shot out, transforming into thirty-six dazzling golden beams that slashed head-on at the rushing ghosts.

Sharp tearing sounds rang out as nearly a hundred ghosts were destroyed, turning into green smoke and vanishing, but even more ghosts surged forward.

Seeing this, Gold Devouring Beetle and Ti Hun could no longer wait and immediately acted.

Ti Hun offered up the Nether Ghost Claw, which burst into blazing black flames with a puff, faintly emitting the sound of malicious ghosts laughing within the flames, and grabbed at the ghosts on the left.

The ghosts that rushed over were caught by the Nether Ghost Claw and instantly exploded, turning to ashes in the flames.

She also blew the Soul-Scattering Ghost Flute, sending out streams of black sound waves that transformed into countless sound blades and swords, slashing into the surrounding ghosts and destroying many of them.

While killing with the ghost claw and flute, Ti Hun also spat out black light from her mouth, continuously enveloping nearby ghosts and devouring them.

Compared to Han Li and Ti Hun, Gold Devouring Beetle's attacks were less effective.

It waved its two front claws, sending dozens of icy crystalline beams shooting out, slashing at the ghosts on the right, shredding large swaths of them.

But except for the few solid-bodied ghosts that were killed, the wraiths and yin spirits remained unaffected. Although their bodies were cut apart, they quickly reformed and continued to rush forward.

Seeing this, Gold Devouring Beetle's eyes darkened. Half of its massive body suddenly disintegrated, turning into a golden cloud.

The other half flashed with golden light and transformed into a smaller Gold Devouring Immortal.

The golden cloud was actually composed of countless rice-sized Gold Devouring Beetles, which surged toward those wraith ghosts in a sky-covering swarm, latching onto them tightly, unable to be shaken off no matter what spells they cast.

Countless Gold Devouring Beetles devoured rapidly, and the wraith ghosts were consumed in the blink of an eye, though the process was somewhat slow. The subsequent ghosts surged forward, constantly pressing the beetles back.

Seeing this, Han Li flicked his fingers repeatedly.

Instantly, hundreds of lightning sword qi shot out, slashing at the ghosts on the right, wiping out nearly half of the wraith ghosts, allowing Gold Devouring Beetle to breathe a sigh of relief.

Although the three held off the onslaught of the countless ghosts, the pressure was considerable, and ghosts continued to converge from all directions, seemingly endless.

"Damn it, why are there so many ghosts? Master, what do we do now?" Ti Hun asked.

"Rather than staying here as a target, it's better to take a risk and retreat along the Black River," Han Li said after a moment's thought.

So the three fought and retreated, moving swiftly upstream along the Black River.

"Look, there's a bridge ahead!" Ti Hun suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Han Li turned to look, and indeed, an ancient arched bridge appeared ahead, spanning the Black River.

The arched bridge was dark red in color, extending toward the opposite bank of the Black River, disappearing into the darkness ahead, its length unclear.

The bridge was pitted and scarred, damaged in many places, bearing the marks of time, but overall it seemed intact.

"Roar!"

At that moment, the ghosts suddenly went mad, frenziedly charging at them with twice the ferocity, greatly increasing the pressure on the three.

Han Li raised his hand and waved, sending a golden light from his hand onto the stone bridge, where it transformed into a golden Dao soldier.

The Dao soldier ran swiftly along the stone bridge.

The black clouds in the sky did not drop black lightning, and the terrifying snakes and insects in the river did not emerge to attack.

"Retreat to the bridge," Han Li said, his eyes lighting up as he saw this, and immediately shouted.

As he spoke, dazzling golden lightning burst from his arm, and he flicked his sleeve.

Rumble!

Hundreds of thick lightning bolts swept outward, instantly clearing all ghosts within several dozen zhang.

The three took the opportunity to rush onto the stone bridge. Ti Hun's expression changed slightly as her legs suddenly went weak, nearly causing her to fall.

"Are you alright?" Han Li grabbed her and pulled her forward as they ran.

The ghosts gathered at one end of the stone bridge, hissing angrily at Han Li and the others, but dared not set foot on the bridge.

"This bridge seems to have a power that suppresses ghosts. It affects me a little, but not much," Ti Hun said, taking a deep breath and freeing herself from Han Li's support, standing steadily.

Han Li nodded, told her to be careful, and continued walking forward quickly.

The stone bridge was arched, and the further they went, the closer they got to the black clouds in the sky. The three were somewhat uneasy, but the black clouds did not react, as if the bridge concealed their auras.

"Eh!" Ti Hun exclaimed again in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Han Li and Gold Devouring Beetle immediately went on alert.

"There's something on the bridge ahead, it looks like a statue," Ti Hun said with a strange expression.

"A statue?" Han Li was slightly taken aback.

The three continued forward and soon arrived at the statue Ti Hun had mentioned.

The statue was humanoid, three to four zhang tall, entirely gray-white, seemingly made of some special stone, emitting no aura at all.

The stone bridge was not very wide, and the statue stood in the middle, blocking most of the way.

"How did this thing appear in a place like this?" Ti Hun said, examining the statue before them.

Han Li also frowned slightly, activating his Nine Nether Demon Eyes to carefully examine the gray-white statue.

"Cough, cough... So there are still cultivators from the True Immortal Realm who dare to come to this Netherworld Realm. Rare, very rare," a deep voice suddenly sounded, coming from within the statue, speaking in the language of the True Immortal Realm.

Startled, the three quickly stepped back a few paces.

"Who are you, sir?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Even if I told you my name, you probably wouldn't have heard of it. But like you three, I am from the True Immortal Realm. It's wonderful to meet fellow countrymen here," the statue said with an unmistakable joy in its voice.

"Are you truly from the True Immortal Realm?" Han Li was inwardly shocked at these words, but his expression remained calm.

"I am from the Earth Emperor Sect in the Wutu Immortal Domain. I came to this Netherworld Realm by chance. Speaking of which, who are you three? What are you doing in the Netherworld Realm?" the statue asked.

Gold Devouring Beetle suddenly raised its head slightly, a fierce glint flashing in its eyes, but it quickly hid it.

Although Gold Devouring Beetle's change in expression lasted only an instant, Han Li still noticed it.

"We three are all rogue cultivators with no fixed abode. As for why we are here, it's similar to you—we were swallowed by a spatial rift and came to this Netherworld Realm by chance," Han Li said unhurriedly.

"I see. Then your luck is really bad, landing on the Fierce Ghost Wasteland. It's impressive that you managed to fight your way out," the statue clicked its tongue.

"It seems you know quite a bit about this Netherworld Realm?" Han Li said.

"Not really an expert. I've just spent a bit more time in the Netherworld Realm," the statue chuckled.

"Why are you on this bridge, sir? And why have you turned into a stone statue?" Han Li paused, then continued asking.

"Do you think I want this? I was hit by an enemy's secret technique and sealed here," the statue sighed.

Han Li was not surprised. He had also seen with his Nine Nether Demon Eyes that there was spiritual power flowing inside the stone carving, indicating some kind of seal, and a very sophisticated one at that.

But what was inside the seal, even with his eyesight, he could not discern.